Western Morning News (Saturday)
Seymour’s words of encouragement from Exeter boss Taylor
TO be hauled off before half-time is regarded by many as the ultimate embarrassment for a footballer. But Exeter City manager Matt Taylor made no apologies to his team for making a double change just 20 minutes into Tuesday’s disappointing 2-0 home defeat to Morecambe.
Taylor made the alterations after a wretched start to the game from his side, who had fallen behind to an Adam Phillips penalty. Alex Hartridge went off nursing a nasty gash to the head, while the substitution of Ben Seymour raised more than a few eyebrows.
The 21-year-old striker, handed the number nine shirt in the summer, has struggled when called into the first team so far. But on Tuesday, he had just shown some promise with a good run and a decent shot – City’s first of the night - before his number was up.
Afterwards, Taylor said that he felt he had little choice in an attempt to get City back into the game with his other options Ryan Bowman and Matt Jay, the Grecians’ top goalscorers so far this campaign. Taylor may not have been sorry for making the changes, but he did offer an apology to Seymour and reassured the youngster that he will get another chance very soon. Whether that is at Carlisle United today remains to be seen.
“Saturday will be a different game to how we expected Tuesday night to be,” Taylor said. “In fairness to Ben, it was through no fault of his own, it was other deficiencies in the team and I apologised to Ben, but I won’t apologise to the rest of the group for taking off a centre forward as I felt that was the right thing to do to get us through the rest of that first half when it was difficult and to give us a chance in the second half.
“It was unfortunate because you then want to be able to bring him back on later in the game but, as I say, Saturday is a different game and we have to respect what Carlisle will throw at us and the pressure they will put us under but, one thing I can promise Ben is that he will get more opportunities in the future.
“In fairness to him, myself and the staff, he’s had a few niggles this season. I think back to the EFL Trophy game (against West Bromwich Albion) when he looked bright and was moving well, but he got injured while he was scoring and then he missed a bit of time because of his quad (injury).
“That has happened a few times with muscle strains so, as much as we want to keep pushing him forward, he has to keep himself available. I will take full responsibility for him coming off the pitch on Tuesday but, when he gets his opportunity in the next few weeks, he must keep pushing himself forward.”
The Grecians have an excellent recent record at Carlisle with two wins and two draws on their last four visits there. For many, the thought of a 700-mile round trip is the stuff of nightmares, but despite the long journey, it is a fixture the Grecians tend to enjoy.
The wide, expansive pitch plays into their hands, which is why it is a shame that City head to the far north without dynamic wingers Joel Randall and Randell Williams, whose absence from the starting XI has coincided with Exeter’s dip in form.
“You are always going to miss certain personnel and I think you are seeing at the moment when you are missing the same players, your wide players, or your pacy players, then you are missing something from your team,” Taylor said.
“When you lose similar players and players that dictate the way you set up as a team, then sometimes, you have to rearrange the set up of your group. That is something we have tried in the last few games and something we may try again this weekend.
“It is actually a fixture I look forward to as it is usually a chance to see family and a chance to see friends, obviously (former assistant manager) Eric Kinder is up there. But with the way the world is at the moment, that isn’t possible.
“It’s not a game we enjoy with all the other bits that come with travelling to the far north fo England, but it is one we are looking forward to. Before their outbreak, they were top of the league and absolutely flying, it will be interesting to see how that’s affected them, but we have to concentrate on ourselves.
“We see it as a fantastic opportunity to play a team that is where we want to get to and it will be a good test for us.”